A Dance of Dreamers
by Atomitrox
Summary: Selena comes to terms with the fact that not all dreams come true. But Kasey teaches her that even though life has its bumps, there is always hope for the future. A contest entry for the Village Square.


**The theme for this month in "The Village Square" is dance, so let there be dancing. This is a little piece about Kasey and one of my favorite ladies of ToT/AP, Selena. The story is from both of their points of view, so enjoy!**

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><p><strong>A Dance of Dreamers<strong>

It was another typical Saturday night at the Brass Bar. After sweltering summer day, the bar was filled to the brim with customers wanting to get a cool drink. Even though the sun had set, the air was still hot, and even the fans couldn't cool the room down. But that was good for Hayden's business. The hotter it was, the more customers he had, and the more liquor he sold.

In turn, this was good for Selena as well. As the Brass Bar's resident dancer, the more customers Hayden had, the more money she received in her pay cut. It was a good business deal for both of them: she wanted to dance and he wanted customers. Hayden had learned early on that Selena's presence brought in customers and nearly doubled the profit that the bar made on every given night. Obviously, men were willing to come to the bar more often when a pretty woman was dancing.

To Selena, dancing was a drug. She could never get enough of the ecstasy that ran through her body when she danced. Ever since she was a little girl, she had been fascinated by the art of dancing and was eager to learn any new dance that she could. She also enjoyed the feelings she invoked in people who watched her. The fascination that people had in her abilities was incredibly flattering, but she never said anything about how good it made her feel. It wasn't as if she had anybody to tell it to though. Despite the love she had for attention, she never really connected with the other villagers. The only exceptions to the rule were Luke and Kasey, both of whom were friendly in their own ways.

Kasey was in the bar that night, talking with Owen, but he was in the bar almost every night. It was the other patrons that were unusual. It seemed as if the entire town had shown up to the bar, driven from the heat of the day. _Whatever, more money for me._ But as she continued to dance, she picked out a specific word from the villagers around her.

"_Skank."_

Among all the chatter, she could tell who had said it. It was either Irene and Barbara, both of whom were standing nearby. They were muttering with each other, but now that they had gotten Selena's attention, she could make out what they were saying, even though she was busy dancing.

"Ever since that _girl _started dancing here, Simon has been coming to the bar every night," Barbara said as she glared at the dancer. "I remember when this place used to have class."

"And look at her outfit," Irene continued, pointing out the arabianesc outfit that Selena wore when she danced. "What a little harlot. Back in my day, women would never wear anything that revealing, not even at the beach!"

Selena tried to ignore the two women, but as she continued her dance, their words still burned in her mind. It wasn't the first time someone had said something hurtful about her, but it hurt just the same. She couldn't understand why any of the women would dislike her so much. She wasn't trying to steal anybody's husband or anything and she didn't think her clothing was _that _revealing. It was comfortable to dance in, and it wasn't as if she stripping or anything. Even if she wanted to strip, the town was too prudish to allow such a thing, so why the women had anything mean to say about her was beyond her.

_It doesn't matter what they say, _she told herself, _once I get enough money, I'll get off this little island and try to make it as a dancer in the city. _But even that line that she had been repeating to herself all this time was beginning to lose its effect. Even when she got enough money to move to the city, it would be hard to get a prominent job as a dancer without a college degree, and getting enough money for a higher education would take even longer. And the longer it took, the older she would get, and the less chance she'd be able to accomplish her dream.

As these thoughts clouded her mind, Selena began to get dizzy. She just wanted out to get out of the bar and away from everybody so she could deal with all the "what ifs." She left the area where she was dancing and went to Hayden, who was tending the bar.

"Hayden, do you mind if I take off early tonight?" she asked weakly. "I'm feeling a little bit under the weather."

"Sure thing," Hayden replied gruffly. "But you're always healthy. Is everything alright?"

"Yes, I just… I need some time away right now," she replied softly, not lifting her eyes.

Hayden nodded, and she left the bar. But not before Kasey saw her making her exit. He suddenly felt very concerned, since every night he had gone to the bar, Selena was always one of the last ones to leave, but tonight, she was the first.

"Hellooo?" Owen said as he began waving his hand in front of Kasey's face in order to get his attention. "You were talking about your horse and then you just stopped and started staring into space. What's up with you?"

"Huh? Oh nothing," Kasey lied to his red haired friend. "Look, I gotta go. I have a lot of corn to harvest tomorrow morning, so I'll see you later, okay?"

"Alright, later," Owen replied with a small wave as Kasey stood up and left the bar. Once outside, he looked around for Selena, but she was long gone. But he told himself that he had to find her. Something seemed incredibly off with the usually confident girl and even if she was okay, he had to make sure.

After briefly walking the streets of town and not finding her, Kasey went into the field. The landscape was incredibly beautiful under the cloudless moonlight, and its beauty was enhanced even more by the multitude of fireflies that lazily flew over the grass. Among the various sources of light, Kasey finally managed to locate Selena in the distance, sitting by herself and looking up at the stars.

"Hey," he said softly as he approached the lone woman.

"Oh, hi Kasey," she replied with a force smile. Even though she wasn't feeling that well, she didn't want Kasey to see her true emotions for reasons of pride.

"You mind if I join you?" he asked.

"Sure," she said softly. He sat down next to her and looked at the side of her face. She wouldn't look back at him though. She didn't want him to see her pain. Eventually, he stopped trying to get a read from her facial expression and began to talk.

"How are you doing?" he asked curiously.

"Fine," she whispered back to him, but she was still avoiding him. "I just needed to get away from the noise, you know?"

"Yeah…" The situation was getting awkward since Kasey was getting a vibe that Selena wanted to be alone. "Hey, I just wanted to know… why'd you leave early tonight? I've been to that bar for a thousand nights, and I've never seen you leave ear-"

"What Kasey, did you miss me?" she giggled, finally turning her head to directly look at Kasey.

_There's that smile. _"Would you be offended if I said yes?" he asked, answering her question with a question.

"No, it's flattering," she answered. "Flattering that you care enough to ask, I guess." The smile left her face again, and she turned away again.

"Of course I care enough to ask," Kasey said in a voice as if Selena had said something stupid. "We're friends, right?"

"Yeah… friends." She felt her cheeks reddening all of a sudden. She never had a real friend before, and she had never pictured Kasey as anything more than an acquaintance. But now that he had reached out to her, maybe she was wrong. Maybe he was more than just an acquaintance. Just the thought of it gave her a warm, fuzzy feeling inside, which felt incredibly foreign.

"Look, I can tell you want to be left alone, so I'll just leave you with your thou-"

"Stay," she commanded, grabbing his wrist before he could stand up. The gesture shocked both of them since neither of them had ever touched each other before, but the moment passed quickly. After the rush ended, Selena took a deep breath before opening up to him. "Look… I just… I heard somebody call me a skank tonight."

"What!" Kasey blurted out angrily. "Who said that?" He already had it in his mind to kick somebody's ass.

"Nobody," Selena replied in surprise at his anger. "Just forget it."

"Look, if somebody is saying these things about you, I'll set them straight. Now who did it?"

"Barbara and Irene."

"Oh…" Kasey said, his voice falling from rage. He was still angry, but he knew that he wouldn't be able to go teach at the older villagers a lesson like he could if they were younger and not women. "Just forget about them, they're both jealous."

"Jealous? Jealous of what?" she asked.

"Jealous that they can't dance like you," Kasey assured her. "Look, unless you've treated them like dirt for some reason, they have absolutely no reason to say those things about you. Don't let it get to you."

"Thanks," Selena said as she placed her hand on his knee. It felt good to be able to touch another person, even if it was something as simple as touching their knee. "But really, that wasn't the thing that really got to me."

"Then what was it?" Kasey asked gently, hoping not to strike any nerves.

"Well…" she paused. "I've never talked to anybody about this before. You promise to keep this between the two of us?"

"Of course," Kasey whispered, putting his hand on hers. "Your secret is safe with me."

"Okay…" Selena closed her eyes and sighed. She still had reservations about telling Kasey about her personal problems, but from her experience, he was one of the friendliest villagers on Castanet Island, so she decided to take her chances. "When they started saying those things about me, it made me think about how unlikely my goals are right now. It's always been a dream of mine to make it as a dancer in the mainland, but all things considered, I don't even know if I'll make it. Even if I do get enough money to move, I may never be able to become a successful dancer, given that it's such a sink or swim business." She looked up at Kasey to see if he was still listening before continuing. "I just… what if I can never make it? What if I'm stuck on this island, forever dancing at that little bar and being judged by people like them? I just… I don't think I can keep on going like this if I can't reach my dream."

An eerie silence followed Selena's confession as Kasey tried to make sense of everything he had just heard. The whole thing was surprising to him, given how Selena always had an air of confidence about her, but now he was seeing a new side of her: a vulnerable, unsure side.

"Selena… that's pretty heavy," he admitted in a quiet voice. "All I can say is that I don't think you should give up on your dreams. If you keep on trying and you believe-"

"Kasey, I appreciate the effort, but don't feed me this Disney crap about 'believing in myself' and what not! I'm not five!" she interrupted in anger. "There are plenty of people who try to reach their dreams but are unable to, so don't tell me-" She stopped herself when she realized that she might have overreacted. "Look, I'm sorry Kasey, I'm just so frustrated at everything. I mean, do you know what it's like to have your dreams dashed?"

"Yes," Kasey answered.

"Oh…" Selena said. "I… I had no idea. I'm sorry." "Don't be, it's alright," he assured. "It was a long time ago."

"Oh… what happened? If you don't mind telling me that is."

"I don't mind, I'm over it," he told her. "When I was growing up, I wanted to be a professional football player and by the time I got to-"

Suddenly, Selena began to laugh at what he had said. "Hehe, I'm sorry Kasey, I know I shouldn't be laughing," she giggled, "but don't you think you're a bit too skinny to be a football player?" At first she regretted making fun of Kasey's dream after he had listened to hers, but she was relieved that he was laughing too.

"I wasn't on the defensive line," he told her, chuckling. "I was a quarterback. I remember in my junior year when we reached the semifinals of our division that I decided I wanted to try and make it in college and eventually as a professional." The smile he was wearing in memory of his youth weakened. "Then in my senior year, I tore my achilles tendon in our first game," he said as he pat his right leg. "I had to sit out for the rest of the season, and even after my leg healed up, every doctor I talked to said that I'd probably tear it again if I continued to play competitively so…"

"Oh my god, that's awful," Selena whispered. Apparently, Kasey knew how she felt better than she thought he would. "How did you manage to deal with that?"

"Well, needless to say, I was really sad about missing out on my dream, but things change," he said, his voice picking up a happier tone as he talked. "After time passed, it bothered me less and less and now… now I have a new dream."

"What's that?" Selena asked curiously.

"I've fallen in love with this island," he answered. "I love being close to nature and I never want to go back to mainstream society. So I guess you could say my dream came true."

"Well, good for you then," Selena said happily. "But what does that mean for me then?"

"Well, I still stand by the 'Disney crap' as you call it," Kasey joked, "but if your dream doesn't work out, I'm sure you'll find another path to happiness on a different path, like…" He stopped so he could re-imagine how he was going to explain it to her. "It's like when you dance. When you're dancing, I'm sure you have a specific goal in mind for what kind of dance you want to do, correct?"

"For the most part, yes," she agreed. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well, even when you have your plan, sometimes you miss a step and things change. But that doesn't mean it's all over. Sometimes you just have to keep dancing until you find a new path."

"Just keep dancing through life, hmm?" Selena murmured. In truth, she wasn't quite sure if she would be able to find a new dream if her career didn't work out, but knowing that Kasey was able to adjust to what life threw at him gave him hope. "Thanks Kasey," she said as she hugged him. The gesture took Kasey by surprise, but he hugged her back and breathed in her warmth. The simple embrace was quite a comfort for both parties. "You know, I feel really good when I talk to you. Like I know that you'll be here to listen to me, no matter what."

"Just remember that I'm here for you," he reminded his friend. "And so is Luke when he's not spazzing out."

"Yeah," she agreed, though she wasn't quite sure if she'd be able to talk to Luke like she could with Kasey. It wasn't that Luke wasn't friendly or understanding, but that Kasey seemed much more cool and down to earth in his attitude. As she was thinking about that, a soft, distant melody was carried in the breeze from town.

"Somebody's playing music somewhere," Kasey commented.

"Yeah, I hear it," Selena agreed. Suddenly, she had a gleam in her eyes. "Dance with me."

"Uh… I'm not much of a dancer," Kasey admitted awkwardly, but Selena pulled him to his feet as she stood up.

"Don't worry so much," she laughed. "It's like you said: just keep dancing until you reach what you want." The two began to dance in the fields to the music that floated in the air. The combination of the moonlight, the starlight, and the thousands of fireflies made the experience one of pure emotion and beauty. But in Kasey's eyes, the most beautiful thing of all was Selena. His eyes followed every move the beautiful, crimson haired girl as she danced. Every movement of her legs, her hips, and her arms seemed perfectly in synch with the music and with nature. It was more than he could say for himself as he tried to move with the music, but ultimately failed. In a sudden moment of awkwardness, he lost his footing and tried to grab hold of Selena to keep his balance, but he fell over anyway, taking Selena down with him.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" he laughed as she laughed with him. He felt even more awkward at this point since Selena was now on top of him, but she didn't seem to care.

In fact, Selena suddenly felt enjoyment in being this close to Kasey again. It felt as though she had known him for years. In a quick moment of spontaneity, she pressed her lips against his for a few seconds. When the kiss finally ended, Kasey had a look of extreme puzzlement on his face.

"Wow, what just happened?" he blurted out in surprise. But Selena didn't answer him. Instead she let out a small giggle and helped him to his feet as if nothing happened. But the second they were both standing again, she took off in a sprint across the field, still laughing. "Hey, come back!" Kasey yelled out in laughter as he pursued the dancer.

As Selena ran across the soft, summer grass, a million thoughts of her present, her future, and Kasey were running through her head. In those fleeting moments, she didn't know what would happen with her dreams, but after hearing Kasey's advice, she had a new determination to dance with life as it came.

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><p><strong>If you enjoyed my story, vote for me at the end Novemberbeginning of December in the Village Square discussion forum contest and check out some of my other Harvest Moon stories. Until next time, happy farming.**


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